Truth is a trip to the Maldives will never be “budget” for a Nigerian traveler with a flight originating from Nigeria. The tickets from Lagos – Male will set you back over N400,000 and goes as high as N800,000. And these are basic economy tickets.

However, travel expenses also include feeding, tours and accommodation and accommodation in Maldives gets super expensive! Beach villas for thousands of dollars? Nah mate! Give us a guest house please!

MY ROOM AT THE GUESTHOUSE COST $40 PER NIGHT, AND A RESORT DAY PASS COST $30. SO IF YOU DECIDE TO SLEEP AT THE GUESTHOUSE AND SPEND YOUR DAYS AT A RESORT WITH A DAY PASS, YOU’D BE SPENDING ONLY ABOUT $280 TOTAL FOR A FOUR-NIGHT, FOUR-DAY TRIP. THIS IS A WHOLE LOT LESS THAN THE $750+/NIGHT PRICE TAG FOR A RESORT. THE ONLY THING YOU WON’T HAVE IS A RESORT PILLOW AND MATTRESS… BUT WHO GOES TO THE MALDIVES FOR THE PILLOWS AND A MATTRESS?

Falon recently took a trip to the Maldives and spent less than $500 for a 4 night stay. This included domestic flights (you’ll need to fly from the international airport in Male to your guest house/beach villa. This is usually via Sea plane), accommodation, lunch, dinner and select tours. Talk about a steal! She shared how she “mistakenly” stumbled on this deal on Instagram and snagged it. Not every time Booking.com, sometimes Instagram Promo ?.

FROM @FOLLOWINGFALON…

swinging away!

The Maldives was never actually on my list of places to visit. I decided to check it out when I found out (through an Instagram promo) that I could swim with whale sharks there. At the time, I was already planning a tour of Asia, so I added the Maldives, specifically the beach, as part of my tour.

The Maldives is a green passport friendly destination. They offer a 30-day tourist visa on arrival to Nigerian citizens. You simply have to show proof of accommodation and return transportation.

It’s definitely worth the hype… if you’re visiting on a budget. I wouldn’t have been as excited about it if I stayed in one of those thousand dollar resorts. I only paid $552 for a four-night stay. This included:

• a round trip domestic flight from the international airport to the island where my guesthouse was located.
• a ‘superior deluxe’ room with a balcony and daily breakfast
• lunch and dinner at the guesthouse
• a day on a private island
• a day at a resort
• a tour to swim with whale sharks.

HOW I GOT THE DEAL.

To be honest, I found this by accident. I was browsing through Instagram and saw a post by the guesthouse advertising a two-night stay with whale shark swim included. I e-mailed them and was told the promo was only for locals. However, they offered me the same itinerary but at a different rate. The whole thing seemed a bit suspicious. It was almost too good to be true. So I went investigating and looked them up on good ol’ TripAdvisor. To my surprise, they were actually a legit guest house with real guests who loved them enough to leave good reviews.

I had all my meals at the guesthouse, and that came up to about $25. The Maldives is a Muslim country so they did not serve any alcohol at the guesthouse. The staff at the guesthouse were extremely helpful and they booked all the activities for me. This saved me some money and also made everything easier. I didn’t have to do anything, except to literally just wake up and show up.

NOT ONLY WERE THEY NICE TO HANG OUT WITH, BUT THEY ALSO ARRANGED ALL MY ACTIVITIES FOR ME. I GOT TO SPEND AN AFTERNOON SNORKELING AT A PRIVATE ISLAND, VISITED A RESORT FOR A DAY (WHICH I REGRETTED AND COULDN’T WAIT TO LEAVE), PLAYED WITH SOME STINGRAYS AND TURTLES, AND BEST OF ALL, ALMOST PEED MY PANTS (OR IN THIS CASE, BATHING SUIT) WHILE SWIMMING NEXT TO A MASSIVE WHALE SHARK. – FALON’S REVIEW ON STAMPEDTRIBE.COM.

BUDGET TIPS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO.
 

If you’re looking to visit the Maldives on the budget it’s possible. Save on accommodation by opting for a guesthouse and plan day trips to a resort instead. Some resorts offer day passes to non-staying guests, which is a lot more cost-effective. My room at the guesthouse cost $40 per night, and a resort day pass cost $30. So if you decide to sleep at the guesthouse and spend your days at a resort with a day pass, you’d be spending only about $280 total for a four-night, four-day trip. This is a whole lot less than the $750+/night price tag for a resort. The only thing you won’t have is a resort pillow and mattress… but who goes to the Maldives for the pillows and a mattress?

If you’d like more information about my trip, you can find the detailed itinerary here.

We already started following La Cabana Maldives in case any juicy deal pops up! Follow Falon’s adventures here.